Here in Jaen province, olives mean business. Big business. Field upon field of olive trees ripple over the mountains, lines of wizened silver trunks rising up and down with every bend in the road. Spain produces between 40 and 45% of the world’s olive oil, so I was prepared for a huge commercial operation. What surprised me, though, was the discovery that many families still grow their own olives. A field here and there. A grove somewhere else.

Pegalajar, it seems, is a small place. The policeman wonders how a man from England attracted such a fine woman from such a fine region before waving us on our way.

As we leave, he chuckles to himself. “They want to pick olives!”

It all started with the police check last night.

Picking olives, while a full time occupation for many, has also become something of a family chore. Farming is as fickle as ever and many young people now study, train and prepare for professions away from the countryside. Yet the family plots remain, the work must still be done.

View of Jaen

The next morning, fortified by thick coffee and cake, we drive further up into the mountains, blessed by a blue sky and clear air. It has rained this year in Andalucia. Rained and rained and rained and rained, then without respite, it rained some more. Riverbanks have burst, households have sprung leaks and laundry has sprouted damp-related fungus.

Spain produces between 40 and 45% of the world’s olive oil.

For the olive harvest, though, rain means disaster and many of the mountain roads remain closed off. As we squelch along the mud tracks, plantation owner Mr X explains that December is usually the busiest month. It is now February and almost every tree still hangs heavy with fruit.

Some trees vibrate as we drive past, olives dropping onto the floor like jelly beans spilling from a child’s party plate. The machine that makes this happen, a small hook on the end of a metal pole, is as high tech as it gets. Most olives get beaten out of the tree with a stick.

I was prepared for a huge commercial operation. Yet many families grow their own olives.

Me. Getting it Right Every Time.

We watch for a while, then join in the fun. The idea is simple, the execution more slippery. Olive trees stand on steep land and our feet slide around on the rain-infested earth. It turns out that there’s more than one way to hit a tree. Get it right and a flurry of olives land in a speckled halo around you. Get it wrong and you hit your co-workers, break the tree or get pelted by a faceful of olives.
Luckily, I spent the entire day in a perfect state of precision and grace.

There’s more than one way to hit a tree.

After raking the earth, leaves and olives together, the collection is heaped into a trailer. Mr X walks around with a ghostbusters-type machine, a reverse hoover that usually blows the olives into a pile.

It doesn’t work today, however. The mud captures everything.

At the Melgarejo factory, a hole in the ground swallows it all- sticks, mud, olives and leaves. Many of the conveyer belts are empty.

“Bad weather,” shrugs Mr X. “Most winters, this never stops.”

The factory staff look bemused as we foreigners wander around, gazing at the machines. That’s the nature of travel, I suppose. One person’s chore is another’s great experience. I watch, rapt, as olives wiggle and tumble through dark ridges and pockets until they line up, scrubbed, clean and in formation like schoolchildren in a class photo.

Olives

The air smells like tapenade, a sheen of black paste on the floor. I was disappointed to learn that you can’t eat fresh olives, that they need at least a year to marinade. Jaen olives aren’t for nibbling, though. Their value lies in the gallons and gallons of olive oil that have earned the nickname liquid gold.

Hungry, we pass into the next area, where the crushing begins. Like fresh compost, black mulch tumbles through metal funnels to become a fountain of thick mustard-yellow oil. From black to yellow through a quick silver press.

Their value lies in the gallons of olive oil – the liquid gold.

Under instruction, I slip my finger into the warm flow and taste its slightly sticky content – a smoothie of freshly chopped grass and warm water.

Filters then transform the vats into the clear, syrupy liquid that rushes into the bottles that shunt, twist and zip along the conveyor belt in an almost perfect dance. In contrast to the mayhem of the factory, the storeroom stretches on in metallic, clinical quietness, the stainless steel cylinders dwarfing us in size.

Liquid Gold

We taste a few of these award-winning green and amber liquors. They fire off a peppery flame at the back of my throat with their strength and I force a smile as I wonder whether this is the start of an allergic reaction.

Fortunately, it’s not and I make it to the refined gift shop alive. Looking at the gold-embossed boxes and brochures, it feels dreamlike to remember that the day started by sliding around in mud, hitting a tree.

As we leave the factory, another vehicle pulls up with the next batch of olives. I hang back for a photo, overhearing the conversation between factory worker and farmer. The latter looks confused.

“English,” the first shrugs. “Wants to pick olives.”

That’s the nature of travel, I suppose. One person’s chore is another’s great experience.

Picking Olives in Andalucia: Olive Harvest Practicalities

The olive harvest usually takes place between December and March. Granada and Seville have international airports but it is usually easier to find cheap flights to Malaga. You will need to hire a car unless you book onto an olive harvest tour.

You may also be interested in these articles…

About Abi King

Abigail King is a writer and photographer who swapped a career as a doctor for a life on the road.
Now published by Lonely Planet, the BBC, CNN, National Geographic Traveler & more, she feels most at home experimenting here: covering unusual journeys, thoughtful travel and luxury on www.insidethetravellab.com

Hi, I'm Abi, a writer and photographer who swapped a career as a doctor for a life on the road. Here I write about unusual journeys, thoughtful luxury and how you can see the world through different eyes.
Find out more

Let’s Get Acquainted

FAQs

Hi, I'm Abi, a writer and photographer who swapped a career as a doctor for a life on the road. Here I write about unusual journeys, thoughtful luxury and how you can see the world through different eyes.
Find out more

Silver Footprint Ltd 6464260 Registered in England & Wales.
All links are hand-checked and only included if they are both useful and relevant. Some may earn this website money. See the small print for more details.
Profile on +Abigail King